Saturday, December 16
It’s the end of the year and in Rome that means Christmas. We’ve been scouring the media for information on holiday events and have been chasing them all over the city for weeks. It’s been very frustrating.
The biggest Christmas fair is reputed to be in Piazza Navona and it was to have started on December 2. Last week we ventured over there only to see business as usual. There was absolutely no sign that a fair had ever been there. Some googling later that night discovered that the fair had been discontinued two years ago. It seems that a large number of licenses for stalls at the fair were issued (directly and indirectly) to a large organization with political ties. Due to recent anticorruption efforts the local government decided not to issue any more licenses, which effectively killed the fair.
Undaunted we found other holiday events were still happening and on this day we decided to see what could be seen.
In the morning we walked over towards Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano. A Christmas fair was scheduled to take place in the piazza in front of the basilica from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. We arrived around before noon and found no sign of the fair. The morning wasn’t a total waste, we found an lovely little church behind the basilica that we hadn’t noticed before. It was Parrocchia del SS Salvatore e SS Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano; this was the principle place where baptisms occurred in Rome for hundreds of years. It is said that the Emperor Constantine was baptized there.
(Baptismal Font. Notice the name of Constantine on it.)
Unfazed we set out for our second destination of the day: The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. This church is reported to have one of the most outstanding Nativity Scenes in all of Rome. This seemed thematic because one of the most important relics contained in this church are wooden pieces from the original manger. With high hopes we entered basilica and searched up and down the length of the entire nave. We found nothing at all. We searched the entire church and the adjacent public spaces. Still no Nativity Scene. We were pretty disappointed.
Fortunately, we had planned a third destination for that day: The Colosseum. The Colosseum is said to posses the largest Christmas Tree in all of Rome. By now it was dark and we went to see it lit up against the night sky.
I won’t keep you in suspense – there was no Christmas Tree. I asked one of the local security people and he said that the closest Christmas Tree was in the nearby Piazza Venezia.
Piazza Venezia is centrally located and we frequently pass by it on our way to and fro. For weeks we had been watching them decorate the area. First they hung lights on the streets. Next they acquired a Christmas Tree. Every day as we passed by the tree had more and more ornaments. Finally, on this night, the tree had been lit and it was beautiful to see.
(Christmas Tree at Piazza Venezia)
On the way home we made a detour. We thought we might salvage the day with a stop at the Tempio Maggiore di Roma to see the menorah all lit up. Apparently, they put some sort of lanterns in the menorah but they don’t actually light them.
We walked over 10.6 miles and hadn’t seen much of what we expected. The day turned out to be a good day, however, because we had a little Christmas miracle of our own. We heard from the Vatican. We were granted two tickets to St Peter’s Basilica for Christmas Eve mass with the Pope.
Tell me Rome isn’t a great city!
Sunday, December 17
With the holiday spirit still in our hearts we ventured out to the Jewish Ghetto to see the Chanukah fair. We approached the Portico of Octavia, where the fair was supposed to be, and found nothing at all – just the usual band of tourists asking directions.
We wandered about the area until we happened on the Hebrew School. When we tried to enter the security guard turned us away; it was only for children.
Never at a loss for a plan B we went to a nearby restaurant. One of the local specialties is fried artichoke and it can only be found in the Jewish Ghetto. It was delicious. We also enjoyed a falafel and humus and a dish of potato encased in fried puffed pastry (we think it was called something like ‘Birkis’).
After dinner we went to a free concert at a nearby church. The all Baroque program featured a chorus accompanied by a chamber orchestra and organ. It was a lovely way to end the day.
Distance walked: 6.6 miles.